10/10/2026
This quilt has been to the Chase County Fair twice.
In June of 2026, this quilt was donated to the Chase County Historical Society. It had belonged to and been made by Virgiline Stout Long. I don't know what year she made it, but the story goes that she entered it into the Chase County Fair that year. It didn't win a ribbon of excellence, but the judge said that if she had entered it in the quilt piecing category, it would have. In 2026, Virgiline's nephew and wife, who live in Chase County, asked if they could enter it in the fair. We were all pleasantly surprised when it won a first-place ribbon and a Merchant prize.
Virgiline Stout was the daughter of J.E. and Carrie Stout of Strong City, KS. She was born in 1902 and passed in 1982. She grew up in Chase County, KS, and graduated from CCCHS. She married James Long in 1930. They lived in Michigan for 12 years before returning to Chase County in 1952. She was known for her clothing shop, "Viriline's Ready to Wear Shop," on Broadway Street in Cottonwood Falls, KS. (Now Griffin's Real Estate & Auction office) She owned and ran it until she retired in1977.
